Perspectives on the Journey

A key message in the Reimagining the Future body of work is that our growing digital world challenges every aspect of how we do business, how we govern and how we live. It will drive significant strategic, tactical and structural changes and fundamentally alter our long-standing beliefs, success strategies and institutional constructs. We’re already seeing it. Just look at companies like Amazon, Uber, Airbnb, Tencent, Google, Alibaba and Facebook. They are rewriting the rules and redefining how value is created and captured, using digitally-centered platforms and ecosystem-enabled business models.

As complexity and pace continue to intensify, uncertainty increases and volatility comes to the forefront. Our daily challenges do not disappear however, making the balance between pragmatism and future thinking critical. I invited two business leaders to share their insights and perspectives on the complexity of this transformative journey and the leadership challenges that emerge.

Hassan el Bouhali, is Chief Information Officer at Bombardier Recreational Products (since recording this session, Hassan moved on and is now the CIO at The Woodbridge Group). Hassan is a global executive with more than 20 years of experience across a variety of industries. He has successfully undertaken numerous transformational initiatives over the years, and has an exceptional track record in leading global, cross-cultural and high-performing teams.

Joining Hassan, is K Ananth Krishnan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Tata Consultancy Services. Ananth heads research and innovation for our firm and is a veteran member of the TCS Corporate Think-Tank. In his role, he has architected a 4E model that delivers substantive value to TCS and its customers – by driving invention, innovation, and co-innovation.

This animated video explores the leadership challenges of seeing the future, rehearsing it, and adapting to the inevitable shifts.

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2 thoughts on “Perspectives on the Journey”

I dunno, I suppose I should be quiet and let futurists enjoy their planning in peace. Hopefully AI will fix this. 🙂 Until then…

All the flow charts and diagrams, the buzzword storm, the hopes and dreams, projections and strategies, the brilliant research of a million scientists all over the world, the radical changes AI will bring, the emergence of an automated society where many of mankind’s oldest challenges are finally conquered, our children, grandchildren and theirs off in to the distant future, this and so much more, all of it….

Depends on a single thing. Nuclear weapons don’t slip out of control.

Imagine for a moment that your career depended on your phone not interrupting an important meeting. You would take decisive action in regards to your phone. You’d leave it at home. You’d give it away. You’d toss it in a dumpster. Whatever it took for your meeting to be a big success, you’d be on it. When everything important to you in your career depended on a single thing, you’d be serious, practical, decisive.

Such common sense clarity seems utterly lacking within futurist commentary, and to be fair, also in the larger culture as a whole. Somehow we all find the time to endlessly discuss everything and anything except the one thing that really matters, the loaded gun in our mouth.

What advice should futurist consultants give to their business clients? Spend time with your family. Make every minute count. Find joy in the smallest of things. Shake yourself awake from the dream.

It’s only when a critical mass of intelligent people start sounding like alarmist crackpots that there will be any realistic chance of all the amazing radical changes futurists love to talk about actually happening.

Imagine this. Let’s say I’m an Internet CEO, and I come to your company in search of funding for my startup. Let’s say I’m the inventor of AI, so your experts decide to investigate my current project to see if there is a promising investment opportunity.

As you get to know me, you discover that I walk around all day every day with a loaded gun in my mouth. When you ask me about this you find that I consider such discussion to be off topic distracting alarmist chatter. After all, I’m still here, right? So why worry, forget the gun, let’s talk business!

As business consultant experts how do you rate the chances of success for my company? Will you be making an investment?

If you were business consultant experts who shared my perspective that the gun in my mouth really didn’t merit discussion, how should we rate the chances of success for your company?